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Brampton voters go to the polls at the end of the month after a series of controversies surrounding Mayor Susan Fennell’s office and council including: city resources being used for the mayor’s private gala, key issues such as a new university and regional representation being dropped and an ongoing spending scandal.

Fennell is seeking her fifth term as mayor. The two main challengers are: Linda Jeffrey, a former provincial Liberal cabinet minister who resigned to run for mayor and John Sanderson, a sitting Brampton councillor. Here’s a look at some key parts of the platforms outlined by the three frontrunners on their election websites.

Accountability and transparency

Linda Jeffrey

Jeffrey pledges to improve accountability and transparency within her first three months in office with a review of: the city’s finances; expenses for council and senior staff; and the code of conduct. She will also implement a lobbyist registry.

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“In my first 100 days in office I will restore trust and confidence in city hall by ensuring that expenses of the mayor, councillors and senior staff are posted online,” Jeffrey said.

Jeffrey will bring in external auditors to get a clear picture of the city’s finances. She will also make sure that city contracts are procured fairly and transparently (the city has come under fire recently for numerous contracts that were not compliant with city’s rules).

Jeffrey is also calling for all council expenses to be posted regularly on the city’s website with a third-party review of spending. She will call for a more rigid code of conduct and is pledging to reduce her pay by close to $50,000 ($165,851 plus any retirement contributions) from the projected 2014 mayor’s compensation of $232,000 from the city and Peel Region.

John Sanderson

Sanderson pledges a two-term limit for his mayoralty. After taking office his expenses and his staff’s will be posted on the city’s website, updated monthly. His daily schedule will also be posted online so taxpayers can keep track of what he’s doing and where he is.

“First, I’m going to turn around the culture of entitlement in the mayor’s office, to actually do some work instead of recklessly misspending the taxpayers’ money. Then I can immediately start work on getting us a university, a third hospital, jobs and a made for Brampton transit plan,” he says.

Sanderson pledges to cut out “unnecessary” trips outside the country and events in Brampton that are more about campaigning than dealing with city business.

Sanderson also pledges to drop the mayor’s $49,000-a-year private limousine service, and cut the $23,000 annual car allowance by $10,000. He will support a ban on any air travel that is not booked at the lowest economy fare. Sanderson will cut the mayor’s salary by $50,000 from the projected 2014 mayor’s salary.

Sanderson pledges to stop closed-door council meetings that he says should be handled in public.

“I am proudly running for re-election so that I can continue to build on the success Brampton has achieved over the past 14 years,” she said in an email.

Her website, as of Tuesday afternoon, also states: “In the coming weeks the Susan Fennell campaign will introduce a series of new ideas to build on Mayor Fennell’s accomplishments, and make Brampton an even better city to live, work, play, and pray.”

Bringing a university to Brampton

Susan Fennell

Fennell pledges to oversee “a plan of action” to create two new universities in Brampton. Her website also states that she will support Sheridan College’s effort to become a university.

“Brampton needs a university,” she said. “I am running again because I want to finish the work we have done together to further elevate Brampton’s quality of life.”

Linda Jeffrey

Jeffrey states that Brampton needs colleges and a university to help youth get the skills needed in today’s economy. She wants a university that is focused on “applied health sciences”. She will work with all levels of government, the local community and the “academic community” to develop a university plan. She also pledges to continue supporting Sheridan College’s post-secondary contributions in Brampton.

John Sanderson

Sanderson vows to have a university operating in Brampton before the end of his two terms in office. Within 90 days he pledges to create a new “Brampton university committee” of council with a member of council appointed as chair.

Sanderson states that a 10-year budget will be established and implemented into the city’s base budget to help fund the university and attract the province’s partnership by showing Brampton is serious.

Sanderson wants to partner with an existing Canadian university to build Brampton’s new campus and he would like to focus on institutions such as the University of Windsor, which has a strong automotive engineering program. He would focus on programs that tie directly with industry sectors that are well established in Brampton, such as automobile manufacturing and pharmaceuticals.

He would also support Sheridan College becoming a university.

Traffic and transportation

John Sanderson

Sanderson states that bringing two-way, all-day GO train service to Brampton is a first priority.

He also pledges to support the Hurontario-Main St. light rail transit (LRT), under Metrolinx’s $50 billion Big Move regional transit strategy. But he wants a made for Brampton route through the historic downtown that would work with his plan for downtown growth, while not disturbing the area’s historic character.

Sanderson would also like the LRT to possibly run into the north end of the city where development has exploded over the last decade. He states that an LRT route should also consider connectivity to a new university and even Pearson airport.

Sanderson will reject future population growth targets mandated by the province if Brampton does not get its fair-share of growth-related funding, including transit funding, from Queen’s Park.

Susan Fennell

Fennell pledges on her website to lead a Hurontario-Main St. LRT plan for the city that “respects the charm and heritage of Main St. S.” She does not support new taxes or fees to raise funds to expand transit.

Linda Jeffrey

Jeffrey has three priorities for transit and transportation: expedite the Hwy. 410 widening plan; bring all-day, two-way GO train service to Brampton and get the city’s Hurontario-Main St. LRT plan “back on track”.

She wants to ensure that the proposed LRT line connects to the city’s Züm and Brampton Transit bus corridors. And she will work to identify and fix the city’s biggest transit coverage gaps.

She also pledges to create a strong relationship with Metrolinx for “future transit to connect Bramptonians with neighbouring municipalities.” Jeffrey will also bring in a cycling strategy.

Other platform planks

John Sanderson

Creation of a “Peel Crime Taskforce” to identify crime patterns in Brampton and both community and police-based solutions.

Help tackle Brampton’s high rate of auto insurance fraud and the resulting high car insurance rates in the city.

Invite every Brampton business to city hall in first 12 months; launch a new incentive-based program to attract small, medium and big size businesses.

Help launch a fair-share funding campaign so Peel region can address issues such as public housing, poverty and educational imbalances.

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